Page 49 of Two Is Better Than One

I blinked at the screen.

There was nothing on my phone from Casey. All I had were some messages from Brooks that I would deal with later. I tossed the phone onto the bed next to me and tried to get my bearings. It was Tuesday morning, and I had to work on the movie until Friday. I was in Miami. I blinked. I needed to check my YouTube account to see if the video got any more views. I thought about picking my phone up again, but I left it there and told myself I would look at it in a minute. I hoped and prayed that by the time I picked it up again, I might have a text from Casey.

I did not hear my text signal go off, but instead I heard a knock on my door followed by my sister saying my name.

"Summer?" She said my name just as she opened the door.

I saw Allie there, and I waved sleepily at her. She crossed the room and came to sit on the side of my bed. It was a king-size bed and I was in the middle, so she shifted to stare at me.

"What time is it?" I asked, since I didn't notice the time when I looked at my phone.

"Almost eleven. When did you upload that song?" she asked. "I know when you uploaded it. I saw. Midnight. Something happened with it last night. Brooks is in there talking about it with Tammy. I think the video went viral. It's already got a famous edit. Somebody put it with a video of ducks."

"What?"

"Yeah. Your song. There's a video of a family of ducks separated by a busy street. I just watched it on my phone. I heard Brooks in there talking about the whole thing, and I searched it. Yours had a million views, and the duck one has almost that many. I have no idea how, in the middle of the night."

"A million? Yesss! That's amazing!" I said, thinking about Casey.

"Brooks did not think it was amazing. He's red-faced and pacing out there. He's been asking me to wake you up for the last twenty minutes."

"What happened with the ducks?" I asked.

"Oh, it was actually a great video. You could tell they wanted to get to each other, but there was a wall of cars. Finally, someone, a passer-by, gets out of his car and stops traffic so that the mom and the little baby ducks could get to the other side. I feel like I've seen the video before, but the song is perfect for it. Why did you post it, though, Summer? You're gonna have to deal with a lot of stuff from Brooks and Tammy over it. You're not supposed to be releasing new content."

"I didn't tell you because you don't need to know my drama."

"Yes, I do, Summer. I'm the only one who usually knows your drama, and right now I have no idea what's going on with you. You're locked up in here for days, you say you're sick, and now you're supposed to go back to filming today, and we don't even know if you're going to be able to do it. Oh, and also, while you were sick, you posted a video that you told none of us about, and it now has a million views. You didn't sound sick when you said you were sick. You didn't sound sick in the video. You're being secretive, and you're usually not like that with me."

"Because of AJ, Ali. You met AJ, and now things are hunky-dory with you and him. I see you two together. I see how you're acting with each other lately."

"He's not going to take your place if that's what you're saying."

"I'm not saying that. I'm not trying to get anyone not to take my place. I just want to chill in my room, and work. I'm supposed to work. I have to get dressed."

"Where is my sister? I want to hang out with you still. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Allie, but I'm going through it right now."

"Tell me. Tell me what's going on. Is it because of AJ and me?"

"No. That's just like the salt in the wound. The wound is something else."

"Casey Morgan?"

"Yes. I basically begged him to stay. Just the way I looked at him, he knew I wanted him to stay. That whole dinner and everything, it was perfect. He let me reach out and touch him in the pool, and he had never done that before. I had reached out for him in public, and he had this ninja-like way of avoiding all contact. And the night was so perfect with the table, and the way he was with me at the pool, I thought he had set it up. I was pitiful. All night, I thought he was going to get down on one knee and propose to me. I kept expecting it."

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry," she said, covering her mouth in shock like the thought never occurred to her. "Were you guys even close to that?"

"No, I mean, obviously not, because look where we are, but, I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I hoped we… you don't have to feel bad. I knew it was you who set that whole thing up. We thought it was really nice."

"Did you love each other?" she asked.

"I thought we did. I had been praying that exact thing, that we would… I'm not… never mind. I'm not saying it."

"Say it," Allie said.

"My whole life I've been praying that God would let you and me fall in love at the same time. I knew you were going to find somebody, and I dreaded it happening without me. Honestly, in my dreams, wishes, prayers, and hopes, we marry twin brothers and they just come as a package deal. I think we may win them at an auction or something like that."

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